Do Colleges Know Where Else You're Applying? Do They Care?

Applying to College
1

<p>Some threads have come up recently about what colleges may know or not know about where else each of their individual applicants are applying. One issue is to figure out what the facts are–what do the colleges know–and the other issue is to figure out the implications of the facts. </p>

<p>Let’s consider what sources of information colleges might have. (Thanks to another CC participant who laid out these possibilities in an earlier thread.) </p>

<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from the Common Application or Universal College Application? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from the College Board score reports? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from the FAFSA financial aid application form? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from your school, if your counselor tells them? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from a question on your application? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied from a question at your interview? </p></li>
<li><p>Do the college admission committees know where you have applied by looking at your application and deducing where else you probably applied?</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Overnight I received a reply from a College Board staff member, K-12 Education Manager Mr. Hoor Bhanpuri, to my question "When a student reports individual test scores to a college, does that college receive, matched to the report of the individual student's scores, a listing of what other colleges the student has reported scores to? In other words, can college admission committees use student score reports to determine, individually, where else students applying to that college are applying?" </p>

<p>Mr. Bhanpuri's answer on behalf of the College Board is </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Sure enough, a close reading of the SAT score report format sent to colleges </p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/2007-08-Data-Layout-for-SAT-Electronic-Score-Reports-for-Colleges.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/highered/ra/sat/2007-08-Data-Layout-for-SAT-Electronic-Score-Reports-for-Colleges.pdf&lt;/a> </p>

<p>shows that there are no data fields to tell colleges what other colleges students have applied to. On the individual level, colleges don't know that from student score reports. </p>

<p>(Although College Board customer service representatives occasionally give inconsistent information over the phone, the majority of representatives contacted in the last twenty-four hours agree that College Board student score reports do not reveal what other colleges a student has reported scores to.)</p>

3

<p>Thanks token! appreciated.</p>

4

<p>Having worked in the Admissions office as a college student, I know that after Early Decision letters have gone out and people have signed their forms and turned in commit letters, schools will share their lists of admitted students with other peer institutions. This was done so that they could catch those that applied to more than one school ED, which they weren't supposed to.</p>

<p>Other than that, I don't seehow a college/university would know what other schools you applied to. Though I have heard of rumors that the Ivies share applicant lists with one another and sometimes negotiate amongst themselves to see which one(s) will admit the top students who applied to all of them. However, this rumor can be neither confirmed or denied, so take it for what it's worth.</p>

5

<p>A New York Times article from this school year </p>

<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/strategy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/education/edlife/strategy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&lt;/a> </p>

<p>reports that Harvard receives lists from other colleges that have admitted students in an early decision round, but Harvard doesn't read the lists. </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Of course, this is all after the fact, after the early decision round has already produced decisions.</p>

6

<p>There was a thread here on CC last summer that indicted that some think that the Common App give colleges information on where else that app has been submitted. I don't know if that is true or not but it is widely believed.</p>

<p>One way around that is to submit to one school then make a copy submit to the next etc. etc. Sounds like overkill to me but perhaps someone else here can verify this.</p>

7

<p>You can't make two Common App accounts- I've tried. They base it off of similar zip code, DOB, and something else that I can't remember at this moment (it's not email address). It kind of sucks, because it means I have to submit my school-specific additional information separately.</p>

8

<p>I believe you can submit and then create a "second" application based on the first submission that you can then alter to fit the schools or schools you want to submit that second group to.</p>

<p>Think about it. This is the same thing that happens when you send in your ED application then start to work on RD apps.</p>

<p>You are correct your ID is the same but if information is sent on that level there is nothing you can do about it.</p>

9

<p>I think the word on these boards, though, is that you can't edit the core Common App part of the applications, just the supplements, even after ED.</p>

10

<p>Hmmm. I just wonder why colleges would do that? Wouldn't trying to look at that information be time-consuming? And would wasting that time REALLY be worth it?</p>

11

<p>ducktape - That's not true. You can create other versions of the common app for separate schools. Try it!</p>

12

<p>OK, sweet. Do you just submit it for one, then add another college to your list or something?</p>

13

<p>Tokenadult has done some research on the Common App question. In their FAQs they say "Each institution can only see its own applications, and they will not know if you have also applied to other colleges."
See post 45 in this thread. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/426867-submitting-without-letting-other-schools-see-3.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/426867-submitting-without-letting-other-schools-see-3.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

14

<p>
[quote]
There was a thread here on CC last summer that indicted that some think that the Common App give colleges information on where else that app has been submitted. I don't know if that is true or not but it is widely believed.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Widely believed, yes. But not true. As MD_Mom has just posted, the Common Application has a FAQ about this on its website. To find the FAQ, go to the Common Application contact page, selecting help desk. </p>

<p><a href="https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/TechSupport.aspx%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/TechSupport.aspx&lt;/a> </p>

<p>From there, follow the link with the link text "click here" (yeah, real original) and that will open a new browser page in which you can enter your email address. Do that, and you are led to a page </p>

<p><a href="https://commonapp.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/commonapp.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://commonapp.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/commonapp.cfg/php/enduser/std_alp.php&lt;/a> </p>

<p>(you may not see this unless you enter your email address first; try it both ways) </p>

<p>listing FAQ answers. FAQ answer number 27, which has probably been posted for quite a while, reads </p>

<p>


</p>

<p>Seems pretty clear to me. Not terribly hard to look up, either, for anyone who visits the Common Application site. It appears that the Common Application's list of colleges you are sending your application to works just like the bcc: line on an email software program--it sends an application to each destination in turn, without giving any sign where else the application was sent. </p>

<p>After edit: Read the Common Application FAQs--I've just told you how--for more information about updating the Common Application and many other frequently asked questions.</p>

15

<p>I want to believe that the common app does not tell colleges where I am applying, I really do. I also want to believe that if by chance they do, its not something that's going to affect my chances for admission - I already have enough to worry about with completing essays, studying for my last ACT and staying focused in school.</p>

<p>But then something that happened today has left me wondering. I received an email from a school telling me how happy they were I decided to apply and encouraged me to COMPLETE my common application as soon as possible. They are 100% correct, my ca is incomplete because I just started working on it --- Wednesday! I only worked on the general info section, I didn't even begin any supplements. This school is simply listed in the My List of Schools section; something I did a while back, and which I will be updating because my choices have changed.</p>

<p>So even though I don't want to be paranoid, receiving this email has made me feel a bit uncomfortable. I don't care if they do release the names of the schools were I've applied, but at least WAIT until I actually apply! The way I look at it, the info I enter should be considered private until I hit that submit button and agree to share it.</p>

16

<p>That college knows about your interest in it, perhaps because you listed it on the Common Application (if the email to you mentions the Common Application), but that doesn't mean the college knows what other colleges you are interested in. (That also doesn't mean the college CARES where else you are applying, but that issue still needs to be developed more in this thread.) BUT, if the college in question accepts the Common Application, and you have made any other inquiry with that college, even this inference is suspect, because of course the college will urge you to finish your Common Application and apply. </p>

<p>Try an experiment. Use your favorite email program to send "blind carbon copies" of the same email to several of your friends. If they reply, you can be pretty sure each recipient received your email. But if you really put the list of recipients on the blind carbon copies line, you could ask each recipient, "Do you know who else I sent this email to?" See by individual follow-up replies how many recipients can give you the EXACT LIST of recipients you set up at first.</p>

17

<p>I received a copy of an ACT report a while back and I believe they listed the word "first" on the copy sent to the first college my son applied at. Has anyone seen this?</p>

18

<p>Dear DaFunk,</p>

<p>The Admissions Office at Harvard College is delighted to see that you have begun your Common Application and have indicated your intent to apply to Harvard. We would like to remind you that early submission of your forms provides more time for the evaluation of your credentials or for replacement of any missing materials. It also allows us more time to schedule an alumni interview with you if possible.</p>

<p>We have already begun our careful evaluation process, reading applications in the order in which they are completed. All applicants and their guidance counselors and teachers are encouraged to submit their application materials by December 1st, a month ahead of the January 1 deadline.</p>

<p>We ask that you submit your portion of the application as soon as possible and follow up with your Guidance Counselor and teachers about their letters of recommendation. If you would face difficulty paying your application fee, please remember that Harvard accepts fee waivers.</p>

<p>We are looking forward to reading your application and learning more about you.</p>

<p>The Committee on Admissions
Harvard College</p>

19

<p>FWIW my daughter has received some mail from colleges that she has never considered thanking her for her interest! She hasn't applied to any common app schools so that can't be the source. My guess is that most of this kind of mail comes from schools that are looking at standardized test data like CB's Student Search Service. [url=<a href="http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/recruitment/sss%5DSSS%5B/url"&gt;http://professionals.collegeboard.com/higher-ed/recruitment/sss]SSS[/url&lt;/a&gt;]&lt;/p>

<p>Colleges understand that almost all students apply to more than one school. I think parents and applicants sometimes worry that if schools feel like they are regarded merely as safeties they won't look favorably on the application. My guess is this is what leads to concern (over concern IMO) about colleges knowing where else kids apply. Even if schools do know where a student is applying (and again Tokenadult's research shows us that they do not find out from the Common App or College Board) there's a lot applicants can do to avoid creating the impression that a school is just a safety. My guess is that kids can help themselves by spending their time and attention learning about schools, expressing real interest, visiting and writing strong focused essays.</p>

20

<p>Colleges that just use the Common App are going to know you are using it because how else can you apply? And if they have received anything from you; SAT scores, inquiries, request for materials, sign up for tours, they are going to know you are interested. </p>

<p>It depends on the college and the admissions counselor as to how interested that admissions office is in where else you have applied. It can sometimes be to your benefit if you list schools that are direct competitors for the same pool of students with a payoff in sweetened aid packages or merit awards. Colleges also want and should want to know where else you applied so they know who their biggest competitiors are year to year. So it's not always a bad thing that they know where else you are applying.</p>